Lovely stuff. Would never have guessed at the style, but arbitrarily adopting the nearest comparison of an oak-aged wild ale, it stands up very commendably. Only wish I'd had more than 4oz to enjoy. (569 characters)

Poured into a snifter. Bottle #2141, from May 2010. I was a big fan of #2 and #3, so I had to purchase this as well.

3.0 A: Murky plum brown color. Two plus fingers of frothy beige head. Retention is below average and a very short ring of lacing is left.

4.5 S: Like the past incarnations of the woodcut series, this too delivers the oak big time. Oak, oak, vanilla, oak, nuttiness, and oak. The base, though admittedly hard to find, works well with the barrel. Sweet neutral maltiness with some caramel and toastiness. Really wonderful smelling. Well done.

3.5 T: The flavors in this are intense to say the least. Again, tons of oak and vanilla. A mild nuttiness. Toasty with caramel and a hefty neutral malt sweetness. You can also taste the lager yeast, if that makes sense. I really like the way this tastes, but it's pretty damn sweet and I scored it accordingly.

4.0 M: Heavy body. Good moderate carbonation. Good creaminess. This would be smoother if it was less sweet, but still good enough.

3.5 D: Not the most drinkable beer, but it certainly is a bold one. Huge oak like it's brothers and a big Bruery sweetness to bring out the diabetes in everyone. (1,166 characters)

Thanks Bruce, for sharing yet another beer I can't get here on the west coast. Pours a hazy orangish amber color with a small white head that disappears quickly. Scent is delightful...tons of cedar and orange scents. Nice whiskey aromas with some sour green apples. Nut and cinnamon as well. Great aroma. Flavor is just as great. Initially its cinnamon with a good amount of cedar and oak. Then I get some citrus hoppiness. Then more oak and whiskey flavors. Lovely orange and citrus flavors throughout. Vanilla and caramel in the finish. Wow, this turned out better than I thought it would be. Mouthfeel is medium-full bodied with a creamy, slightly boozy finish. Drinkability is high...very tasty. Overall, I never ever thought I would rate a marzen/octoberfest this high. (774 characters)

Pours a dark ruby color with a two finger frothy white head that slowly fades into a lasting cap/ring. Rings and chunks of soapy lacing left behind.

Earthy aroma with lots of wood/oak along with sweet malts and autumnal spice. Toasty with strong wood profile as well as some caramel, nut, toffee, cinnamon and brown sugar. At first all oak but becomes more complex as it warms.

Medium bodied with slight creamy texture and a very strong oak barrel presence that dominates. Lots of toasted oak that overpowers the flavor up front but soon gives way to autumnal spice and sweet malt notes. Hints of cinnamon and brown sugar followed by sweet caramel, hazelnut, biscuit and toffee. The high AbV is excellently masked with no heat whatsoever. This beer has a strange flavor profile and since the virgin oak is so strong it slightly overpowers the other notes, lingering into a bone dry finish. Still, this beer is pretty flavorful and in my opinion, the dry oak flavor goes well with the characteristics of the marzen style. (1,062 characters)

Taste: All that and more on the palate. Cherry turns to brandy, cognac, leather, dark rum. Getting rougher and tougher, feeling more like a barley-wine lager. Oak-aged double oktoberfest, huh? Genius. Big and beefy, but also lovely and luscious.

Hot liquor roars along the palate and coats the throat, getting hotter as we go. Becomes a big, malty bruiser, keeps company in the mouth, sets a spell, rests luxuriously…and then it comes…boom, boom, boom, boom. This is one bomber that should be split three ways, at least. But I can't write these notes while being properly sociable, so I take one for the team. Team Bitter Nib, going all the way to document the total beer experience.

Perhaps I should have saved this for a moment or two, it's just not cold enough for a brew this hot. In a few weeks to a month, this would really come in handy. Says the guy who just decided to open up an Imperial Stout next... (1,076 characters)

Sampled July 2011A smell of light tartness wafts my way after cracking the cork. A steady pour into my Lost Abbey Teku glass produces a fat-two-finger thick, pale amber tinged, tan colored head; as I work my way through this beer some spotty, spidery lacing clings to the side of my glass. The beer has a pretty red-amber color that shows clear pale cranberry and gold color in light. A full look at nose shows no tartness, but i would guess it was the oak, which certainly plays big role here. A toasted, woody oak mixes with caramelized maltiness that has lots of biscuit like malt character and pale-toasted whole grain notes. buttery oak and even oak fruit or tartness if that makes sense. As the beer warms up more of the sweetness comes out, this definitely accentuates the caramel character (it almost has a fruitiness to it even) and there is even a touch of nuttiness to the nose.

There is a viscous heft and chewy, caramel maltiness that lingers on the palate with a textured heft. finish has tart spicy oak and some astringency. up front the spicy, sharp and woody oak melds nicely with the sweet, caramel malt notes. Toasted oak melds with biscuit malt and chewy, almost savory whole grain flavors. The spiciness seems to also come from nice hop character; slightly herbal, soft touch of biting bitterness, maybe even fruit accentuating. oak does somehow contribute a very subtle tartness, adds another dimension (I am pretty sure there is not something else contributing this tartness). As the beer warms up a nice vanilla note from the oak starts to come out, this works well with the richly caramelized malt character.

A second pour has me noticing an almost smokiness to this beer in the aroma, and it is there in the flavor as well; this seems to be a product of the malt and the oak character. It can seem a touch hot in the finish at times, though it is not much if you consider how strong this beer is.

The oak character, while certainly playing a big role here, is not so omnipresent as to clash with the base beer. The mix of oak and malt is actually quite nice; the fact that the beer is quite sweet helps with this, without the oak it would be cloying, but the two achieve a certain balance. This is never going to be anything but a sipping beer though. Tasty enough, though it can seem a touch too cloying at times. (2,344 characters)

Bottle #1307, bottled in May 2010. Courtesy of my favorite mid-west trading partner G311. Pours a slightly hazy deep copper color with a large fluffy white head and plenty of carbonation; leaves a nice bubbly lacing as well.

Aromas begin quite sweet with plenty of vanilla. There are plenty of sweet biscuity malt notes; some breadiness as well. As it warms you get a little of the doughy and bready lager yeast notes which were undetectable initially. In the way background you get a bit of alcohol, but not really even enough worth mentioning considering this is a 11% beast.

The tastes begin with layers of bready and biscuity malts. Then you are greeted with the nice subtle oaky and woody flavors. Both are balanced very nicely; by no means is this a wood-bomb. As you re-examine you detect the flavors from the barrel including good vanilla and some tannic flavors usually associated with wine (tobacco, leather and apple) but are all secondary to the vanilla and general "woody" flavors. There is a slight slight slight sour oak twang. Really very chewy and doughy like a slightly undercooked buttermilk biscuit. As it warms the iodine/sourness and alcohol emerge much more making this less drinkable. The "lager" malt bill and imperial level of alcohol leave the unbalanced ABV/style flaws more apparent as you reach the lower half of the bottle, this is best served at colder temperatures

The mouthfeel is medium bodied, which is something I was worried about due to the lager factor (I hate 95% of lagers I have tasted because they taste watery and stripped of flavor), but this one delivers. Plenty of carbonation as well which I also really enjoy and prefer compared to the flat, lifeless barrel-aged messes which are becoming far too common in today's craft beer industry.

Overall, I enjoyed this beer for the most part. I have not had a bad offering from Odell's barrel collection beers, but I greatly prefer the Woodcut No. 3 and the Deconstruction to this. From what I have read and experienced these Woodcut's need at least a year to settle/merge their flavors properly so I recommend this and any future offering only after aging to properly enjoy them at their peak. Another quality offering from Odell's barrel aging program although this is the first one I do not really "want/need" to revisit. Still quite good though. (2,346 characters)

A: Pours an orange on red lager with a single finger of caramel head which falls over a couple minutes to a solid sheet of the same. Excellent clarity. Spotty on cobweb lacing.

S: As the title suggests, wood is king here. Oak, fired oak, sour oak, fresh oak. The beer has multiple layers of the tree playing with an herb I can't quite place, but it reminds me of Turkish food - it's very strong. Maybe tee-tree oil.

T: Man, I wish I could place this flavor, because it dominates the palate. Maybe it's just oak, but it has a distinct pine flavor. I can say that As the beer warms, there are some nice malt flavors of caramel and vanilla. Again, this is woody.

M: Medium to heavy for the style, moderate carb. Dry finish is spot on and aromatic.

O: Really interesting beer. I would definitely drink again. I don't know I would seek it out, but that's more or less because it is so strong on a flavor profile which is obscure if not unique to this beer. I think it is unfortunate that the beer has to be categorized under the marzen style, given that the beer is a Double/Imperial Marzen. Kudos to Odell heading a different direction with beer, and I'm glad I got to try this one. (1,251 characters)

Poured from a 750ml bottle into an Allagash tulip-ish glass at 45-50 degrees. Pours with a ton of head, seems quite overcarbonated, almost overflowed my glass despite a gentle pour. The body appears a lot like iced tea, dark brown with maybe the slightest orange tinge. Off white, almost light tan head. Retention is crazy, lacing is fair.

Tastes very sweet, huge fruitcake type sweet pastry bread type flavors with candied cherries. Banana plays a role here too, along with some caramel and butterscotch. A decent bit of vanilla and oak crop up underneath. Finishes with a spicy alcoholic kick.

Feels pretty smooth, big and chewy, perhaps a bit more carbonated than I would have thought for such a big beer, especially one that has been oak aged, I'm used to them being less spritzy on the tongue.

Overall I thought this was about average. It didn't really surprise me in any way and I'm generally not a fan of such sweet beers. The flavors that comprised that sweetness were a bit different than the normal ones I get though, which is why I still found it enjoyable overall. This series is proving to be way too expensive, especially when compared to the quality of other cheaper Odell beers. (1,439 characters)

Pours into my New Belgium goblet with a huge head that lingers for a good while. The color is a dark but crisp reddish brown. There is a strong wood aroma that is accompanied by a malty sugar sweetness.

The wood is most prominate for sure. First few impressions on the taste are of sweet pine. After you are prepared for the wood taste it kind of fades to the back. The prune sweetness and almost a candy apple tart really balance this out. There is a little alc bite but it isn't very hot, which is a bit scary. The carbonation is just about perfect and the finish is one of the best I have experienced.

Very drinkable and an outstanding brew. Reminds me of The Wanderer they had on tap at the brewpub during GABF 2010. Wish I had another one for another day. (764 characters)

First I've heard of anybody barrel aging a marzen. Knew I had to try it.

A- Dark rubyish clear brown color. Aggressive head with not such an aggressive pour. But, slowly goes away. Great lacing.

S- Awesome! Toffee. Honey. Oak. Vanilla. A hint of pepper. Great bready notes. And a hint of citrus.

T- Great! Definitely a woody character but not overwhelming what-so-ever. Bready. Nutty. Warming alcohol. Hint of some dark fruits like prunes and raisins. Great caramel sweetness from the extreme maltiness.

M- Full body and full carbonation for sure. Super rich and creamy and frothy. Each sip is just as creamy and bubbly and as the next. Dare I say it was just a tad too carbonated though.

O- A sipper for sure and definitely one to share with your friends. Odells Woodcut series beers proves to be awesome yet again. Can't wait for the next ones! (851 characters)

Bottle thanks to Kristina, drank at Jeppe's visit at West Lakeview Liquors.

A - Copper colored beer with red notes. Off-white head had some positive retention and a bit of solid lace on the sides.

S - I am not a fan of Oktoberfest style beers, but this smells really great. Toffee, vanilla, some sweet honey, and oak. Has a nice depth and some varying aromas, particularly since I was expecting some sort of malt bomb.

T - Very well done, once again, particularly for the style. Nice lager-style beer balanced with oak and bourbon from the barrels. Vanilla compliments quite well. I kind of expected this beer to be overwhelmed by the barrel, but that was not the case. Great balance and flavor.

M - Medium bodied with a moderate dose of carbonation.

O - Really great beer, it's a home-run for the style. No clue it was 11%, went down way to easy. Would like to drink this again. (884 characters)

Aggressive head but with careful pouring there is no overflow ... just a massive rocky head. Dark brassy color shows off its clarity. Fresh oak, bready malt, ripe freshly peel oranges, spicy alcohol and hops with a clean nutty yeast backing all fill the nostrils. Very deep smoothness with an extremely creamy body. Spicy, warming alcohol and a think wood character. Maltiness is layered underneath with unfolds with caramel and bready flavors. Hops ring in pretty hard with a firm bitterness and long linger of flavor. Hint of orange and raisin with more spicy alcohol in the semi-sweet finish that eventually gets pulled down buy the wood.

T: Initial thoughts are this tastes like a 2 X 4. A fresh cut new wood smell. There is some almond that comes through near the end. The alcohol is heavy near the finish.

M/D Once you can get past the in your face 2 X 4 smell and flavors you can get a feel for the base for this beer, which is also not very good. I tried real hard to find some enjoyment in this beer, but I wasn't having it. (564 characters)

This pours up a dark amber color. It's almost four-finger head of off-white colored foam is thick and craggy. The retention is great and the lacing is very sticky.

This is what I think that a marzen should smell like. Nice. Huge malty notes dominate this glass. Hints of honey, caramel and brown sugar. A very good amount of yeasty spice notes. White pepper, pink peppercorns and a light touch of corriander. Light hints of almonds and vanilla. Very light traces of pine and citrus notes. A small hint of oak, but not like the previous three Woodcut's have been.

My, my, but that sure is tasty! If there were any more malt presence here, you'd have to order it from Dairy Queen. It's HUGELY malty. Right on! Big presence of caramel and toffee and honey. The almost cherry-like flavor of almonds, along with toasted almonds, as well. The white pepper makes a light appearance. A slightly bread-like yeastiness. Light notes of rum raisins and vanilla beans. It's all blanketed by a hint of dryness from the balancing oak flavor.

This is full-bodied, almost thick. It has a full carbonation level. This provides a very nice amount of creaminess, yet allows it to finish crisply.

This will surely be too sweet for some, but I like it's super maltiness. On top of that, it doesn't drink like it's anywhere near 11.00%abv(!). This is undoubtedly the best Marzen that I've personally ever had.Thanks, yet again, Odell! I love your beers. (1,515 characters)

Poured from a 750ml brown, corked and caged bottle into an old style Boulevard Smokestack Chalice.

Right after the cork pops, the aroma of sweet oakyness fills the room. It's quite an impression right off the bat. There's no choice but to review the aroma first. What a fantastic smell. Layers of sweet malty notes with a raging undercurrent of fresh oak. It's really blissful. I love it. I wish everything smelled like this.

Pours a not quite ruby, but still orange-ish body that is brilliant in clarity. Foam is minimal, but a cream color that rapidly disappears leaving no lacing. A very pretty color for a double Marzen; exactly what I would expect. Slight points off for the foam and lack of lacing.

The flavor of this beer is really phenomenal. This is the first Woodcut that I've enjoyed and would quickly buy again. This beer is a fantastic balance of oak tannin, strong malt backbone with several threads of sweetness worked in. Hops are not a player here. It's a perfectly complex, yet clean malt and oak masterpiece. It's quite the beer to savor.

Mouthfeel is appropriately sticky with plenty of body. I may have preferred it to be a notch drier.

Drink ability is high considering the strength, but I would be hesitant to finish a whole bottle on my own.

S: Smells of honey and sweet malts some vanilla and toffee. Some wet oak. The wood profile is there but I wished it had been more dominant.

T: Vanilla, even more oaky flavors than the nose, maybe some bourbon and caramel. Strong flavors but not much diversity.Finished a little sweet with warming alcohol which was more noticable than I would've liked.

M: Medium to full bodied and medium carbonation with lots of fine bubbles. Smooth and creamy over the palate but with a sharp dry release as the alcohol lets you know it's still there.

D: Fantastically drinkable for an 11% but still sort of hot, great body on this lager and it was smooth all the way through. Glad I got the opportunity to try it. (906 characters)

Received this beer as a Christmas gift and was overwhelmed by the beer. Since it is aged in oak barrels it really brings out the oak and vanilla tastes. Those two paired with the lager really create an outstanding taste experience.I really enjoyed this beer for the tastes brought out from the oak barrels and the balance of the lager beer with the oak and vanilla characteristics. I have tried 1 and 2 in the this series a while back and the entire series is a home run.This beer is for sure going to improve with aging and letting the cedar and nutty flavors become more pronounced. One to seek out and try. (611 characters)

First bottle of the night, thanks to Kristina of WLV for this surprise to start the night...Pours a light clear copper with red. A really light tope head, great retention, good lacing...The aroma is awesome, biscuit malt and bread mixed with some light bourbon and awesome vanilla. So shocked at how nice this is...The taste is more of the aroma, almost as successful but the vanilla gets a way a touch...Incredibly easy to drink at 11%, I can't believe it.

Chilled bottle into a glass, generously shared by the late chswimmer. Thanks, Ted. From notes.

A: Pours a murky, turbid amber body in the glass. It is capped by a small off-white head that retains poorly and retreats into a thin collar on the beer.

S: Tannic as all hell, with the contributions of herbal and pine hops. It reminds me of burnt rubber a bit, though I typically associate that with over-the-top boozy beers (this isn't one).

T: It begins with a blast of general sweetness, then becomes bitter, herbal, and horribly tannic. No finesse, balance, integration. This is straight-up "let's see what we can toss in a barrel and sell for $25 a pop."

M: It's astringent, light-bodied, and bitter. I couldn't find anything nice to say about this in any of the categories. The beer simply doesn't have the strength to stand up to the barrel, and the result is a clashing series of flavors.

D: $25 a pop! Jesus Hiram Walker Christ. These days the beer scene is a large tribute to the adage, "A fool and his money..." (1,028 characters)

Best marzen I ever had. I hate to bring dwn the average rating, but to me its still, well, a marzen. Bold malting. Thank you for sending JMBSH. Was geat with supper, particular washing down the fish. Good drinkability but of course thsi quantity must and was shared. Good head, malty aroma. Vanilla. (299 characters)